The Human Revolution

The Human Revolution (Japanese: "Ningen kakumei") is a roman à clef written by Daisaku Ikeda, the third and honorary president of the Soka Gakkai chronicling the efforts of Jōsei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai to construct this Buddhist organization upon his release from Sugamo Prison at the end of World War II. The Human Revolution has sold millions of copies^[1][2] and served as the source of two movies of the same name produced by Toho Company and directed by Toshio Masuda.^[3] The novel was printed in 12 volumes.

Ikeda began writing The Human Revolution on Dec. 5th, 1964. Often quoted from Ikeda's preface to the book: "A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind."

The book has been translated into English, French, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Chinese (traditional version), Korean, Italian and Dutch. The Weatherhill edition of the book has a foreword by Arnold Toynbee.^[4]

Ikeda followed The Human Revolution with another series of books titled The New Human Revolution. These volumes began with Ikeda's trip to organize the Soka Gakkai in the United States and Brazil in 1960, several months after he succeeded Toda as president. The New Human Revolution is an ongoing series and consists of 26 volumes (so far) printed in English and two more serialized in Japan.

Selected Works

• The Human Revolution (The Human Revolution, #1-12), abridged two-book set, Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 2008; ISBN 0-915678-77-2
• The Human Revolution (The Human Revolution, #1-6 with foreword by Arnold Toynbee), Weatherhill, Inc. edition, publishing years 1972-1999. ISBN Vol.1 0-8348-0074-8, Vol.2 0-8348-0087-X,Vol.3 0-8348-0118-3, Vol.4 0-8348-0175-2, Vol.5 0-8348-0198-1, Vol.6 0-8348-0361-5
• The New Human Revolution (an ongoing series) (30+ Volumes, this is an ongoing series), Santa Monica, California: World Tribune Press, 1995-; partial list of ISBN Vol.1 978-0-915678-33-4, Vol.2 978-0-915678-34-1, Vol.3 978-0-915678-35-8, Vol.4 978-0-915678-36-5, Vol.5 978-0-915678-37-2, Vol.6 978-0-915678-38-9, Vol.7 978-0-915678-39-6, Vol.8 978-0-915678-40-2, Vol.9 978-0-915678-41-9, Vol.10 978-0-915678-42-6, Vol.11 978-0-915678-43-3, Vol.12 978-0-915678-44-0, Vol.13 978-0-915678-45-7, Vol.14 978-0-915678-46-4, Vol.15 978-0-915678-47-1, Vol.16 978-0-915678-48-8, Vol.17 978-0-915678-49-5, Vol.18 978-0-915678-50-1, Vol.19 978-0-915678-51-8, Vol.20 978-0-915678-52-5, Vol.21 978-0-915678-53-2, Vol.22 978-0-915678-54-9, Vol.23 978-0-915678-55-6, Vol.24 978-0-915678-56-3

References